Isa 57:1-2 | MHM | STEP | Death of the Righteous. Isaiah shifts from criticizing the leaders to showing how careless and unaware the people have become. Just as the leaders were blind, the people also fail to notice important things happening around them. In these verses, Isaiah teaches about what it means when good people die, and how the rest of the world rarely pays attention to these events. v. 1 : God sometimes removes righteous people from the world through death. The righteous perish , and even those who are merciful are taken away . Good people are not protected from death, and sometimes they die even more quickly, especially during times of danger or persecution. When righteous people die, it is often a great loss for their communities—and sometimes, cruel people are responsible for their deaths. This happened before the exile to Babylon, when many good people died and very few were left (Jeremiah 5:1; Psalm 12:1 ). Sometimes, God allows the most valuable people to be taken away. However, most people do not recognize the importance of the death of the righteous. No man lays it to heart —nobody considers what God might be saying through these events. Few people mourn the loss as they should or think deeply about what it means. The death of good people should make us stop and think, asking what God is teaching us and how we might fill the gap they leave behind. When people ignore these signs from God, it shows a lack of understanding and respect for God’s blessings. Sometimes, the world even celebrates when good people die (Revelation 11:10 ), not realizing what a loss it really is.

‏ Isaiah 57:1-2

Death of the Righteous.

Isaiah shifts from criticizing the leaders to showing how careless and unaware the people have become. Just as the leaders were blind, the people also fail to notice important things happening around them. In these verses, Isaiah teaches about what it means when good people die, and how the rest of the world rarely pays attention to these events.

v. 1: God sometimes removes righteous people from the world through death. The righteous perish, and even those who are merciful are taken away . Good people are not protected from death, and sometimes they die even more quickly, especially during times of danger or persecution. When righteous people die, it is often a great loss for their communities—and sometimes, cruel people are responsible for their deaths. This happened before the exile to Babylon, when many good people died and very few were left (Jeremiah 5:1; Psalm 12:1 ^a). Sometimes, God allows the most valuable people to be taken away.

However, most people do not recognize the importance of the death of the righteous. No man lays it to heart—nobody considers what God might be saying through these events. Few people mourn the loss as they should or think deeply about what it means. The death of good people should make us stop and think, asking what God is teaching us and how we might fill the gap they leave behind. When people ignore these signs from God, it shows a lack of understanding and respect for God’s blessings. Sometimes, the world even celebrates when good people die (Revelation 11:10 ^b), not realizing what a loss it really is.

v. 2: For the righteous, death is actually a blessing. They are taken away from the evil to come. God, in kindness, lets them die before trouble comes, so they do not have to suffer through hard times (2 Kings 22:20 ^c). Their death can also be a warning to the world, because they were the people who helped protect others through their prayers and good lives. When God removes them, it can mean trouble is coming for those left behind.

Those who lived upright lives receive peace when they die. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds . This means their souls go to a place of perfect peace, and their bodies rest in the grave until the resurrection day. Death is a rest for God’s people, especially after a hard life (Revelation 14:13; Job 3:17 ^d). For those who walk uprightly, death is not the end, but the beginning of true rest and joy with God.